The Biden administration announced Friday it will lift travel restrictions on Nov. 8 for fully vaccinated individuals arriving in the U.S. by air travel or by crossing land borders.
White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz said in a tweet that the new policy applies to foreign national travelers from 33 countries who were previously barred from entering the U.S. because of the virus. It applies to a number of European nations — including the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain — as well as China and Iran, among others, according to NBC News.
Foreign nationals will be able to travel to the U.S. if they show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of travel. The policy change was announced in September, but the White House announced Friday the date when it will take effect.
The White House announced earlier this week it would lift restrictions on fully vaccinated foreign nationals for non-essential travel at U.S. land borders and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico in early November. Land and ferry travelers will be required to present proof of vaccination to officials upon request.
A White House official, who was granted anonymity to speak on a policy that had not yet been publicly announced, said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has informed airlines that all FDA-approved and authorized vaccines, as well as those that have an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization, are acceptable. The CDC plans to issue guidelines on acceptable proof of vaccination in the coming weeks.
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